Kazzabarian
Description The Kazzabarians are a civilization of desert people, content to live within the sandy wastes of Kazzabar. There are four distincts groups of Kazzabarians, three of which split off from each other centuries ago, each going their own seperate ways, but the fourth a recent branch. 'Meditha' The Meditha, or plains folk, are widely considered the most civilized of the Kazzabarian people in the waste, primarily because they live in permanent communities. They dwell in commercial centers varying in size from villages to cities, where merchant caravans and nomad tribes come to buy, sell, and trade. All manner of goods pass through these settlements, from precious metals and gemstones to grains, dried fruits, and spices. When these towns are built on the coasts or along larger waterways, they are even more profitable, allowing for the import and export of goods to and from the more remote parts of the waste. Despite their enlightened views on commerce and civilization, the Meditha are not always held in high regard by their neighbors. Because the plains folk rely on trade and shipping to maintain (and expand) their cities, they tend to enforce their civilization on anyone within reach—and their reach extends a little farther each year. When commerce falters, the imperialistic Meditha send envoys to make trade pacts with other communities—generally to the benefit of the Meditha and to the ultimate detriment of their partners. When those trade pacts fail, the Meditha frequently send armies to take that which they could not gain through bargaining. 'Desa-hul' The Desa-hul are the mountain folk, and can be just as warlike as the Meditha, but they build their settlements in such remote locations that the larger concept of civilization is lost on them. They simply don’t have enough resources to expand, making their homes in the high valleys and plateaus of the mountain ranges that cross the wastes, where a stream might only be a trickle. The Desa-hul establish their villages around these meager sources of water, diverting some small amount to their fields and pastures. The strong supplement the community’s provisions through hunting, and the weaker members of the community use their spare time to gather the occasional basketful of wild berries. The more aggressive Desa-hul sometimes send raiding parties into the lowlands, secure in the knowledge that only the most persistent and vengeful will venture up the narrow mountain trails in pursuit. Even then, it takes a highly skilled tracker to discern exactly which community produced the raiding party. 'Djebe' The Djebe are humans who have most thoroughly adapted to the waste-dwelling life. Proud and rugged, they live in the harshest parts of the waste, surviving on what they can gather and trade for. Forged metals are beyond their abilities, for example, requiring tools too heavy to carry and too costly (in terms of fuel) to operate. Ingenuity sees them through—Djebe are quite adept at constructing the tools and weapons they need out of whatever is at hand. The Djebe are also the only people of the waste who subsist almost entirely on hunting and gathering. They cultivate no crops. Raiding sometimes gets them what they want, and they have the safety of the vast deserts to protect them when their victims seek vengeance. However, their lifestyle also provides an effective limit on the size of their tribes—most Djebe travel in small family groups and are largely disinterested in taking what doesn’t belong to them. Djebe can travel for weeks or even months without seeing another person, so maintaining good relations with those they do encounter is often a high priority. Trade isn’t absolutely necessary for the Djebe to survive, but it does sometimes give them access to equipment. They especially prize gear that might enable them to travel a bit faster or to carry supplies they might otherwise leave behind. 'el-Mussta' Though less distinct than the other three groups, the el-Mussta are still their own sub-culture, and as such, are treated in the same way as the others above. The el-Mussta are essentially a group of colonists from mostly Meditha lineage (though some Djebe as well), that colonized the province of Kawah (or as they renamed it, Elbra'Qan). They lived peacefully with the Rimbari natives for quite a while, but eventually war broke out full force for control of the jungle crater. Category:Race Category:Sub-Race